As our daughter and I were watching Anne of Green Gables yet another time, the nursery rhyme “Row, row, row your boat” came to mind in a comment that was made in regards to parenting…it got me thinking…

Sometimes we forget that there are two of us given the responsibility of parenting our kids, not just one of us! We need to remember that we both need to be picking up those ‘oars’ and working hard to balance our kids’ ‘life boats’ every day. We need to be sharing responsibilities evenly and taking in to consideration the other parents views and ideas as well.

I will admit that this is an area that I have failed  on many levels. Because I stayed at home with our kids I felt like I knew them better and just ‘knew best’.  I know that this has been a disservice to our kids and I have regrets for this.

If you are a younger parent than I, please consider how important it is for your children to learn from both of you and have input from both Dad AND Mom, in their formative years.

When just one of you is constantly doing all the ‘rowing’ it can cause burn-out, resentment and confusion in your kids.  They even may be feeling like their boats are a little tippy at times when they seem to be always driven in one direction by just one parent.

SO…start sharing the rowing with your partner. It will make this parenting trip so much easier…and you won’t just keep going in circles!

Love, Karen